MacBook Neo Review – a breath of fresh air in the sub-RM3,000 segment

Apple MacBook Neo (256GB)

9.5

At this point in time, the MacBook Neo is clearly the de facto “cheap” laptop, with a starting price of RM2,499.

What's Good?

• Full aluminum build
• A fantastic display for its price
• Looks great, sounds even better
• The Apple ecosystem just works

What's Not?

• Severely limited I/O ports
• Non-backlit keyboard hampers late-night productivity

So, I finally got myself the MacBook Neo. A cheap laptop. In the land of laptops, cheap laptops are probably the least sexy of them all. Even then, laptops aren’t usually the first gadget that one would find “desirable”. Most look at one as a tool for work rather than play, and even when it comes to gaming laptops, it’s often a compromise, chosen in place of a full-sized desktop gaming setup. But yet, the MacBook Neo has an undeniable allure, an inexplicable attraction. Is it because that finally, everyone can own a MacBook?

MacBook Neo – What’s Good?

A full aluminum build, at this price point, in this economy?

When every Windows laptop below RM3,000 settles for a plastic build, I must say I was surprised that Apple didn’t go down the iPhone 5c route with the MacBook Neo. In fact, I would probably think that it might have been better to craft the MacBook Neo out of some reinforced plastic that can stand up better to the abuse from younger users. But it appears that Apple made the decision to appeal to a wider audience with a more premium full-aluminum build.

With all that said, the finishing of the edges leaves something to be desired. The edges around the keyboard deck are sharp, with the biggest offender being the recess right under the trackpad. The sharp edge meets the cutout at an extremely sharp point. Luckily, I didn’t find myself coming into contact with it during normal use, but the fact that there are two such sharp points kinda… scares me? But then again, I did check – it’s a MacBook thing and not just a MacBook Neo thing, so this isn’t about cutting costs, but about Apple wanting to be… at the cutting edge.

A fantastic display for its price

When shopping for a Windows laptop within this price bracket, you will likely be looking at something like a Vivobook Go, with a screen that does 65% sRGB, 250 nits max brightness and is maybe even a TN panel. You definitely won’t be getting anything close to the MacBook Neo’s 100% sRGB panel that maxes out at 500 nits. The MacBook Neo’s 13-inch screen might be a tad small – I am of the opinion that a 14-inch display is the absolute best size – but it is surely the best display you can get at this price point.

Apple made sure to keep the MacBook Neo just one rung below the MacBook Air, which means you miss out on the latter’s higher resolution 13.6-inch display with support for the wider P3 color gamut and True Tone, but hey, there’s still automatic brightness regulation on the MacBook Neo. In a Windows laptop, you will be hard pressed to find anything equipped with the likes of the MacBook Neo’s display below the RM4,000 mark today.

Looks great, sounds even better

The MacBook Neo is not particularly great sounding when compared to the other MacBooks in the lineup today. But, with that said, it is one of the best sounding laptops I have ever used. Sure, something like the Zenbook S16 comes out with better clarity and dynamic range thanks to a more complex six-speaker setup, but it is also a 2.2X more expensive. Generally, among Windows laptops, crappy speakers are expected until you get to around the RM5,000 to RM6,000 range.

The Apple ecosystem

Call me an Apple shill, but you really can’t beat Apple at what they do best – keeping you in their walled garden. Pair your AirPods with your iPhone once, and as soon as you take the buds out of the case, they are immediately connected to the MacBook too. Or how your MacBook will immediately ask to connect to your iPhone’s hotspot when you are away from your saved WiFi networks. Don’t even get me started on AirDrop and iPhone Mirroring. At this point, I must mention that there are options to get similar functionality on Windows laptop like HUAWEI Share, but the sheer seamlessness of the experience is quite uniquely Apple and definitely one of the main reasons why it’s really hard to switch away from Apple products once you are hooked.

MacBook Neo – What’s Not?

Severely limited I/O ports

I somewhat understand the MacBook Neo port situation – it is based on the A18 Pro, and generally smartphone chips don’t come with much in the way of I/O. It just isn’t something worth dedicating precious silicon area to. For a smartphone. In a laptop, having just two USB-C ports is very limiting, one of which is limited to just USB 2.0 and charging. It somewhat reminds me of the MateBook D 16 (2022)’s port layout. I also wish the USB 2.0 port and faster 10Gbps USB-C port swapped their positions, as it’s really awkward to connect a charger to the port closer to you, and a USB-C device to the port further from you. While we are at it, maybe a HDMI port would be nice to have too?

Non-backlit keyboard hampers late-night productivity

This is probably more of a problem for me as a first-time Mac user, but I really can’t work on the MacBook Neo without keyboard backlighting. As this is intended as the first Mac for most people, I believe that this will in fact affect quite a few people. What do you mean I have four modifier keys to the left of my Spacebar? The keyboard itself is decent otherwise. Slightly shorter travel than I would have liked but still provides sufficient tactile feedback. The trackpad with the physical click, while a step below the other MacBooks’ haptic trackpads, is honestly a non-issue to me, but once again, that might be since I am accustomed to Windows laptops.

MacBook Neo Specifications

MacBook Neo – should you get this?

At this point in time, the MacBook Neo is clearly the de facto “cheap” laptop, with a starting price of RM2,499. Never would you have imagined “MacBook” and “cheap” in the same sentence, but here we are. It’s straight up insane that Apple just decided to drop the gauntlet at this exact point in time when all Windows laptops are facing price hikes due to the RAMpocalyse. Of course, it also goes without saying that the MacBook Neo isn’t going to be the laptop for everyone. It simply nails the basics, and true to the late Steve Job’s slogan, “it just works”. It nails the basics, basically blowing everything else in this price segment out of the water. If your budget allows for more, the MacBook Neo’s shortcomings like limited RAM and I/O might seem like dealbreakers, but for people seeking a computer for their day-to-day productivity in the sub-RM3,000 segment, this is the laptop to get.

On that note, if you plan on getting one, I do recommend getting the 512GB variant which comes with Touch ID. The 256GB variant suffices for my daily workflow as I generally work on the cloud, but I also have to key in my password every time I wake the laptop or install something. With all that said, I am still amazed that while the Windows OEMs continue to bring knives to a gunfight with bulky, plastic chassis, shoddy screens and crappy last-gen performance, the Apple simply dropped what might simply be the most exciting “cheap” laptops in ages, and called it the MacBook Neo. Gold Award worthy, for sure.

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• MacBook Neo (Shopee): https://s.shopee.com.my/6Ai0BkoEG2
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